I Wish I Knew What You Were Thinking
by WoundedSparrow
Summary: A story starting at the after party that was going to be held after the final gym scene in the movie. Will Troy and Gabriella seperate because of Gabriella's big mistake? Troyella. Chaylor. COMPLETED!
1. The After Party

**Disclaimer: I do not own HSM.**

**Recap: The Wildcats varsity basketball team had just won the championship game against the West High Knights, and the East High Scholastic Decathlon just won their competition against the Knights. **

The after party was held at Troy's house. His parents were gone for the weekend because Mrs. Bolton had taken her husband to a resort in Arizona. When Gabriella showed up, music was blaring and the paintings on the walls were beginning to shake. The party was definitely in full force.

Because Gabriella had already committed to babysitting that night, she showed up about two hours into the party. Quickly she glanced around the room trying to find Taylor, and spotted her over by Troy. He had a worried expression on his face. Little did Gabriella know, Troy had been wearing that expression ever since the party began. He couldn't possibly have any fun without her. She was all that was on his mind. Taylor, you could tell, was getting annoyed with Troy. Seeing as he was always asking "Where's Gabriella? Didn't she say she would be here by now?"

When she saw Troy, Gabriella's face brightened, and she squeezed her way between dancing jocks and cheerleaders to get to him. Unfortunately, by the time she was close enough to yell his name, he was called to the front of the room to accept the game ball, once again.

"Hey Taylor! Sorry I'm late. The parents always stay out late," Gabriella complained.

"It's okay Gabby. I'm glad you're here. Maybe Troy will get off my back. He's been asking where you were the whole night!" Taylor said in an annoyed voice.

"Oh." Gabriella blushed. The truth was she had been thinking about Troy too. Oh, and not to mention the two kisses he had given her that day. All she wanted was to brush his lips with hers again. It felt so right. She watched as Troy smiled at the crowd admiring him. All he was thinking about was how he was going to pick Gabriella up in his arms and swing her around. Then he would put her down and kiss her. He could never let go of her again.

Once the basketball celebration ceremony was over with, the scholastic decathlon's presentation started. Once again, Troy and Gabriella missed each other. When the presentations were over, Troy headed towards the front of the room to meet Gabriella. As soon as she saw him, she ran towards him and leaped into his arms. He held her for what felt like five seconds, but was really over a minute.

************************************************************************

At 1 o'clock in the morning, the party had pretty much died down. Everyone had left except for Chad, Taylor, Kelsi, Ryan, Sharpay, Zeke, and Gabriella. They were all about to watch a movie when Chad and Taylor decided they were tired and wanted to go home. Kelsi, Ryan, Sharpay, and Zeke all agreed, and Gabriella was about to walk out the door with them when Troy grabbed her wrist and said, "Why don't you stay a little while longer. We can watch the movie together or something." Gabriella couldn't resist the sincere look on Troy's face, so she decided to stay. The truth was Gabriella just wanted to be with him.

"Great! I'll go make the popcorn. Do you know how to work a DVD player?" Troy asked.

"Uhhh…" Gabriella answered, "No. I was raised in a mountainous area where they did not have any sort of electronics. Sorry, you're going to have to do it."

"Very funny." Troy laughed, and handed Gabby the remote, and then ran into the kitchen. While the popcorn was popping, Gabby had a hard time deciding which movie she wanted to watch. Finally she decided a scary one, and put it in.

About halfway into the movie, a man popped out of nowhere on the screen, and Gabriella screamed, throwing some of her popcorn up in the air with her. Troy laughed. "Do you need a hug, Gabriella?" Secretly, he wanted to hold her.

"Yes." She answered in her baby voice, and Troy wrapped his arms around her.

Fifteen minutes before the movie ended, Troy noticed that Gabriella had fallen asleep. With a gentle shake, he woke her up.

"Was I asleep?" she said in a sleepy voice. They both looked at the clock and Gabriella let out a small cry. "Oh my gosh! It's four in the morning! My mom is going to kill me!"

"Don't worry, um… she probably can't give you a ride, and my parents took the car… and Gabby, I can not let you walk all the way to you house this late at night."

"Well, how do I get home?" She had a worried expression on her face that made Troy's heart melt.

"Well…" he said, "Why don't you spend the night?"

**Sorry it's short! More to come if you like the story! **


	2. A Night Alone

"Troy, uh, are you sure? I mean, I don't know. I just met you like…" Gabriella lost her train of thought. She was shocked at what Troy had just asked her. Did he really mean what she thought he meant?

"Oh, no! Gabby, I didn't mean it that way! You would be staying in the guest bedroom. That's all. Nothing else." Troy felt a little embarrassed. He should have worded the invitation more carefully. He could see Gabriella's worried look disappear after she heard the sleeping arrangements.

"Oh Troy, that's very nice of you. I would like to take you up on your offer, but all of my stuff is a home. I need my toothbrush, my toothpaste, my pajamas, and a pillow. I just don't know if it's going to work. I mean, I can't sleep in this red dress I wore to the party. I hope you can understand."

"Gabriella, we have everything you need! In the guest bathroom there are toothbrushes and toothpaste for you. Um…" Troy didn't have any sisters or any siblings at all, so he couldn't figure out what she could wear as pajamas. A thought popped into his head, but he was a little nervous to say it.

"Well," he began "for pajamas, I have an extra pair of red gym shorts, and an East High basketball t-shirt you could wear. That is, if you want to." He could feel himself started to blush. Troy was doing all he could to get Gabriella to stay. He actually thought she would look pretty hot in his clothes.

Gabriella thought about what Troy said. Should she stay? He seemed really sincere, and she could tell that he really cared about her safety. Once again, his beautiful blue eyes swayed her decision, and she gave in with a smile.

"Okay. That's fine. I really appreciate this Troy. I don't know how I will ever thank you!"

Troy knew exactly what she could do. "Well, there is one thing." He said in a mysterious voice.

"What's that?" Gabriella asked. Troy loved the way she looked when she was confused.

"I would be really happy if you would be my girlfriend." He smiled at Gabriella. She was who he truly wanted. From the moment he sang with her during winter break, to right now, she had stolen his heart. Troy really hoped she would say yes. He didn't know what he would do if she didn't.

Gabriella closed her eyes for a minute to calm herself down. Unfortunately, that didn't work because she jumped into Troy's lap and planted a soft kiss on his cheek. Troy answered her with a kiss on the lips.

Suddenly the phone rang and Gabriella jumped about five feet into the air. Troy started laughing and only stopped when Gabriella took that day's newspaper off the table and hit him on the head. "Stop it. I can't help that I'm a little jittery." She smiled.

"Who would be calling at this hour?" he said to himself, and hurried into the kitchen to get the phone. His best friend Chad happened to be on the other line.

"Hey man!" Chad yelled. Troy could hear loud music blaring in the background. Chad had probably headed over to Jason's after party. "You should totally come over to Jason's house. This party is hopping! Seriously dude. Well, anyway, Taylor wants to talk to Gabriella, but no one is answering at her house. Is she with you?"

"Yeah." Troy answered. "She decided to stay and watch the movie with me. Put Taylor on and I'll put Gabby on."

Troy hurried into the living room to hand the phone to Gabriella, and then went upstairs to get out her "pajamas". He was really happy that she was staying. Troy was beginning to think that he was falling in love with her. When he wasn't around her, he was thinking about her, and when he was with her, oh, it just felt like heaven on earth.

When Troy came downstairs, he found Gabriella was done with her conversation.

"What did she want?" he asked, and instantly regretted it. He knew better than to get into people's business.

"Nothing important. She thought we might have a chance to go to state if we work hard enough for our next competition in March. I really don't understand why she had to tell me that at four in the morning." She laughed. Troy laughed with her.

"Well, your clothes are all set upstairs, and the toothbrush and stuff is out on the sink for you. If there is anything you need, just let me know. I'll be downstairs for another hour. I forgot to do my language homework." He said.

"Well good luck." Gabriella sighed. She was getting tired. It was now five fifteen and she thought she might never be able to wake up in the morning if she stayed up any longer. Quickly Gabriella pulled out her cell phone and text messaged her mom to tell her where she would be, and then ran upstairs to get ready for bed.

Meanwhile, Troy was so happy over Gabriella spending the night that he could hardly concentrate on his homework. So instead, he turned on the TV and flipped through the channels looking for something to watch.

**HSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSM**

At about seven in the morning, Troy was still awake thinking about the big game and how Gabriella was now his girlfriend. He decided to put a big plastic spider on the headboard of her bed just for fun, but when he entered the room and saw her sleeping, he just couldn't do it. She looked so…. sweet. He just had to hold her. So, without a thought, Troy climbed into the bed and wrapped his arms around her. He could finally go to sleep.

**Hope you liked it! Please Review! More to come if you guys tell me you like it!**


	3. Confused

_Author's Note: _**This chapter is probably going to be the most boring out of all of them. This is because this chapter sets up the next couple, so please stick with me here. It will get better. I did the best I could to spice it up, but I just couldn't think of anything else to add! Hope you enjoy and stay tuned for a better chapter in a couple days!**

Gabriella woke up around 2:30 in the afternoon. She had had a very good night sleep, but was still worried that her mother might not have checked her cell phone messages. Gabriella decided that she would leave Troy a note on the kitchen counter and walk home now that it was light out. She would return his clothes later. Suddenly, she heard a small breathing noise, and turned around to find Troy next to her in the bed. Gabriella did then what she seemed to be doing a lot lately. She screamed as loud as she could.

Troy fell out of bed, almost hitting his face on the corner of the antique nightstand. He had no idea what was going on, but when he turned around and saw Gabriella's face, he immediately began an extended apology. "Gabriella, I am so sorry. It's just, well, I wasn't really thinking. I'm…. I'm really sorry."

Gabriella looked confused. "Sorry? Don't be sorry. I saw you come in last night with that spider. I just thought I would get you back for it." Gabriella then started laughing so hard that she almost fell off the bed as well. "You should have seen your face!"

Troy just stared at her, trying to figure out how she did that. She was really going to get it now. He leaped onto the bed and tried to grab Gabriella, but she flew out of the room and down the stairs. Troy almost caught her when she whipped around the kitchen island, but luckily Gabriella tripped on a piece of the Bolton's new rug and fell softly to the ground. Troy landed right beside her, and they both broke out laughing.

"Are you okay?" Troy asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine." Gabriella sat up. She was a little dizzy from all the running. "Thank goodness we didn't break anything."

"Well, it really wouldn't have mattered, seeing as you would probably be the one to break it." He smiled. Troy loved to tease Gabriella because she took things so seriously. It was fun to see her laugh. She looked so pretty in his red gym shorts and East Basketball shirt. Troy leaned over and kissed her lightly on the lips. She kissed him back. Gabriella's heart raced as their lips touched, but sadly she pulled back.

Gabriella laughed. "Okay Troy, I didn't want to be a bad house guest, but, I'm starving. Let's make breakfast." Quickly she glanced at her watch. "Or maybe lunch." Troy helped Gabriella off the floor and they both walked into the kitchen.

**HSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSM**

Troy walked Gabriella home around three in the afternoon. Once she was inside and had talked to her mother, she went upstairs and started rehearsing her lines for the winter musical. About halfway through the script, her mother came into her room with the phone.

"Hello?" Gabriella said.

"Hey Gabby." It was Troy. "I forgot to ask you if you wanted to be my guest at the presentation ceremony today. We're going to give the championship trophy to the principal, and we each get to bring a guest. Are you interested? It starts in an hour."

"Sure. Sounds like fun! Isn't the West High basketball team going to be there too?"

"Yeah, it's because they have to present the second place trophy. Weird, but anyway, I can give you a ride if you would like."

"Sounds good. I'll see you in an hour." Gabriella hurried to get ready for the ceremony.

**HSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSM**

During the presentation, only the teams were allowed in the gym, so Gabriella and Taylor had to stay outside with Sharpay and the rest of the team's guests.

"So Gabriella, how's the play going?" Sharpay asked. Gabriella noticed there was a little bit of hurt in her voice. She was friends with Sharpay now, but was still a little uncomfortable around her.

"It's fine. Just to give you a heads up, Troy and I are planning to be sick one of the nights so you and Ryan can take the stage." Gabriella smiled at Sharpay. She was glad that Troy had agreed to this. Sharpay and Ryan really had done a marvelous job in the auditions, and they deserved their turn under the spotlight.

Sharpay's face brightened. "Really?" she squeaked. "Wow! That is so nice of you guys! I better start rehearsing!" And with that Sharpay ran towards the music room. Meanwhile, Taylor was glancing at something behind Gabriella. She turned around and saw that it was a boy from West High. He was around six feet tall and had dark brown eyes and blonde hair. This guy looked like an athlete.

"Oh, does someone have a crush?" Gabriella teased.

"No, but I think someone has a crush on you." Taylor's eyebrows rose. "He's coming over to talk to you. I'm going to get a drink of water."

"What? Wait, you can't le…."

"Hi. I'm Jacob. I don't believe we have met. Do you go to East?" Jacob held out his hand for Gabriella to shake, and she politely took it, while at the same time she was making a mental note to kill Taylor.

"Actually, yes, I do. My name's Gabriella by the way. Are you on the basketball team at West?" Gabriella couldn't help looking at the big muscles he had in his arms. She immediately thought about Troy, and felt like slapping herself. _You're in love with Troy, remember? Not some guy that just comes up to you._

"Yeah, I'm on the…." The basketball players from East had begun to come out, and he quickly changed the subject. "Look, I know this is sudden, but I saw you at the championship game the other night, and I really wanted to meet you. I was wondering if maybe I could, meet you, over pizza on Saturday. What do you say?" Gabriella was shocked that this guy that she had met only two minutes ago was asking her out. Of course, she couldn't accept, seeing as she had a boyfriend.

Troy was exiting the gym when he saw Gabriella talking to a guy from West. "Whoa man. That dude is really checking Gabby out!" Chad said. He looked at Troy as if to say _aren't you going to do something about it?_ Troy didn't know what he could do, so he started to walk toward her.

"I'm really sorry Jacob, but I have a boyfriend. I can't really go out for pizza with you. I hope you will understand." Gabriella felt bad, but Jacob was also making her uncomfortable. He wouldn't stop looking into her eyes.

"Please consider. It would be strictly a friends only kind of date. Well, it wouldn't be a date, but, you know." Jacob looked really awkward. "I noticed that you were also in the scholastic decathlon. I do that kind of stuff too. Actually, I'm the captain for the district academic team. We compete in the academic bowl and other events. I'm looking for a new member. Would you be interested?" Jacob was now looking at the ground. Thank gosh he had taken his gaze away from her eyes. They felt like they were bleeding.

Gabriella was interested in hearing about this academic bowl. It would probably look good on her college resume. "What is this academic bowl?" She asked, but Jacob only said, "Meet me at Antonio's Pizza at seven tomorrow night. I'll tell you then!" and then he was gone.

Troy snuck up behind Gabriella and grabbed her sides. She flew into the air. "Don't do that Troy. She laughed." Gabriella turned around a looked at Troy. She immediately gave him a hug. They held each other tight for almost a minute.

"Who was that?" Troy looked curious. He was now glancing in the direction of Jacob.

"Some guy from West. He wants me to be on the district academic team! Can you believe that?" Gabriella's eyes were so bright that Troy couldn't help but laugh.

"Yeah that's great!" Troy was smiling. He felt like kissing Gabriella at that moment, but the principal was standing a few feet away. "Alright everyone, we're going out for ice cream. My treat!"

As Gabriella was heading towards the car, Taylor snuck up behind her. "So, you're not really going to go to the pizza place tomorrow… are you?"

**Tell me what you think! Please Review! I love reviews! I'm hoping to reach at least 30.**

**Stick with me here! Next chapter will definitely be more interesting. I promise!**


	4. Trust is an Issue

**Chapter 4…. Finally! I know the story hasn't been updated in a while, but the next chapter (Chap. 5) will be out by Monday night (At the latest). Please R&R, and keep reading! Things start to heat up next chapter!**

Gabriella got the phone call that she was really not looking forward to after ice cream that night. When she heard the phone ring, she carefully tip-toed over to it, careful to not wake her mother, and reluctantly picked it up.

"Hello?" she asked.

"Thank gosh you answered, Gabriella! I've been trying to talk to you alone all night, but that ice cream parlor was just too crowded. I just wanted to know what your plans are for tomorrow night, and, I guess Monday too." Taylor seemed to have a suspicious tone to her voice.

"What you mean is 'Are you going out for pizza with Jacob on Sunday', right?" Gabriella knew what Taylor was up to. Even though they had only been friends for about three weeks, she could read Taylor like a book.

"Well…yeah. I'm sorry Gabriella. I just think that you shouldn't go. I mean, Troy would be really upset if he found out about this. He really likes you. Believe me, I know because Chad is always talking to Troy on his cell." Gabriella laughed. Troy was just too sweet.

"I'm glad you don't think I should go, because I wasn't planning on meeting Jacob. I also wasn't planning on getting a phone call late on Saturday night from my paranoid best friend." Gabriella laughed. Taylor knew it was a joke.

"I'm sorry." Taylor was giggling now, "I know I should have trusted you. Well, that was not the only reason I called. I was wondering about Monday. Chad invited the gang to his beach house near the lake. We would be there all day since we don't have school."

"Right! The parent-teacher conferences. I completely forgot! Sure, I'll go! It sounds like a lot of fun! Troy's coming too, right?" Gabriella felt a little silly saying this, but she knew that she would have more fun if Troy was there with her.

"Of course! Look, I have to go, but Chad and I will pick you up around eight-thirty. Sorry it's so early, but Chad says the rental boats go fast." Gabriella laughed. She knew Taylor wasn't a morning person.

"Awesome! I'll see you then." Gabriella carefully set down the phone and began to get ready for bed. As she was brushing her teeth, a thought occurred to her. _What if Jacob wasn't lying and I could've really been on the district academic team?_ Just to clear her suspicion, Gabriella decided to check the district website for information on their academic team. Sure enough, in bright, bold letters was the name **Jacob Sladowski – Team Captain.**

"So he wasn't lying." She whispered to no one in particular. Gabriella turned out her lights. Maybe she would meet Jacob for pizza tomorrow after all.

**HSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSM**

Chad's alarm clock went off at eight the following morning. He was out of bed, dressed, and had eaten his breakfast by the time he was walking out the door ten minutes later. Today the entire basketball team was going to have a pick-up game at the park, and Chad couldn't wait to catch up with the guys. The crisp morning air hit his face as he rode his bike to Troy's house. Once there, Chad was disappointed to find that Troy was still asleep. _Good thing I brought my air horn._ Troy had given Chad a blow horn for his birthday to use to wake him up. Troy was not a morning person.

Chad tiptoed up the stairs with the Bolton's permission and carefully crept into Troy's bedroom. He put the air horn right next to Troy's ear and squeezed the tiny rubber ball at the end.

Troy made it out of his bed, into the hallway and had started down the stairs with his eyes half closed before he hit his head on the railing. Chad was laughing so hard that he was beginning to cry. Troy moaned and crawled on his hands and knees toward Chad and punched him in the gut. Chad didn't mind. Troy was useless in the morning. "Good night sleep, Troy?" Chad asked, clearly struggling to hold back his laughter. Troy just hit the carpet with his hand.

"Dude, when I gave that to you, I didn't think that you would really use it. Why am I being woken by obnoxious noises all of the sudden? First Gabriella's scream, then the air horn? What the hell is wrong with my friends?" Troy was almost shouting now. He wasn't mad he was being woken up; it was just the way he was waking up. He didn't blame Gabriella for screaming, but Chad was seriously going down.

"C'mon man! We have to go to the park and meet the team! What do you think it's going to look like when the captain doesn't show up on time? Not good, right… Troy?"

Troy was now running down the stairs. Chad was right. The captain should always be on time.

**HSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSM**

Around six at night is when Troy and Chad finally reached their houses. After a long day of playing basketball, Troy decided to skip out on calling Gabriella that night. He knew she would understand that he was tired and just wanted to watch a movie and relax. Little did Troy know that his phone call that night would have impacted a very important decision his girlfriend was having trouble making.

**HSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSM**

Gabriella showed up at Antonio's pizza ten minutes after seven. She was always fashionably late, no matter how hard she tried not to be. After spotting Jacob at a table in the back, she strode towards him. When Gabriella sat down, Jacob looked up from the book he was reading and smiled. "I didn't think you would come."

"Yeah, well, I'm here. Sorry for not believing you. I did some research and it turns out that you were not lying. I feel really stupid now." Gabriella blushed. She hoped that Jacob would still accept her on to the academic team.

"Don't worry about it. So, I already know that you are qualifying material. I just need you to take a thirty minute test to figure out your spot on the team. You know, science, math, reading, global issues, that kind of stuff." Jacob looked at Gabriella. She really was an attractive girl. Sadly for him, she had a boyfriend.

He handed her the booklet. "Thanks!" Gabriella said. "Though, I must say that my strength is math and science." She laughed, and immediately started answering the questions in the booklet. Jacob returned to reading _A Tale of Two Cities_.

Gabriella looked up about twenty minutes into the test when she heard the door to the restaurant open. To her surprise, she saw Taylor and Chad walk over to the pick-up counter. Taylor was glancing around the restaurant, clearly looking for….. _her?_

"Shoot!" Gabriella whispered, and immediately ducked under the table. Unfortunately for Gabriella, she misjudged the distance between herself and the table and smacked her head on the edge. At this point, Jacob looked up from his book to find his dinner partner with her hand on her forehead while sinking underneath the table cloth. Jacob shrugged thinking that she dropped a fork and went back to reading.

"Taylor, let's go!" Gabriella heard Chad call to his girlfriend. "The pizza will be cold by the time we get back to my house."

"Sorry Chad. I was looking for Gabriella, because I thought she might be here, but she's not." From underneath the table cloth, Gabriella could see a tear roll down Taylor's cheek. "I'm such a horrible person. I couldn't even trust my best friend." More tears flowed as Chad wrapped his free arm and Taylor and escorted her out the door. Once the bell on the door rang, Gabriella shot up from underneath the table. Jacob was eyeing her suspiciously.

"Oh." Gabriella felt like crying now. "Well, I better finish my test." She choked out, and got back to work.

**HSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSM**

When Gabriella returned home, she packed all her clothes for the next day in her swimsuit bag. How was she going to be able to face all of them tomorrow? The phone rang causing Gabriella to jump. She hustled over and picked it up.

"Hello?" Gabriella answered.

"I saw you….."

**That's it! Sorry, I would have added more but you guys have been waiting a long time for this chapter. Please Review! _Tell me what you want to happen, what you feel about the character's decisions, if you like the story, favorite parts._ You know… all that good stuff. I LOVE reviews, so tell me how I'm doing! I would love to hear from you! **


	5. With You

**READ  AND REVIEW PLEASE! **

**A/N: I know. I promised to update like 5 weeks ago, but I had a major case of writers block. I realized that I messed the story up, so, I'm going to try to make it interesting, so we'll see how that goes. You will be happy to know that I am making it up to you guys (for not posting) by giving you my longest chapter ever. Enjoy, and I'm really sorry! Please forgive me! Oh, and ideas are welcome! This chapter is where the Teen rating comes from! Just a warning! _Read the author's note at the bottom of the page! Important!_**

_Recap:_

_When Gabriella returned home, she packed all her clothes for the next day in her swimsuit bag. How was she going to be able to face all of them tomorrow? The phone rang causing Gabriella to jump. She hustled over and picked it up._

"_Hello?" Gabriella answered._

"_I saw you…"_

"Oh my god, man! I can't believe you pulled it off! She actually fell for it!"

"Yeah. Thanks for helping me make that website page. I totally knew that she was going to look me up." Jacob smiled to himself. He had worked for eight weeks on his plan, and it was finally falling into place.

"So, when do you think you can get her alone? I mean, it's not going to be easy to make-out with your rival's girlfriend without him seeing you."

"Oh, I plan on doing much more than just kissing her, but don't worry about it Patrick. I managed to get some information out of her when her friends left the restaurant. I guess she's going to some lake tomorrow. I forgot the name, but you can bet that I am going to be following her there. Gabriella is not meant for Troy. She's meant for me. And that's why I have to break them up."

"Troy?" Gabriella's voice was shaking now. Had he really seen her at the restaurant? She could not believe that this was happening. What if he broke up with her? She would be devastated.

"Yeah. I saw you walking by the basketball courts today while the team was playing a pick-up game. I tried to say hi, but you couldn't hear me. I wanted to ask you if you were going to be able to come tomorrow." He paused, and said in a sincere tone, "I really hope you are." All Troy could think about was Gabriella, and the fact that she was his girlfriend. Nothing could ruin the high that he was experiencing.

"Yeah," Gabriella spit out. "I'm going. Look Troy, we need to talk." Gabriella's voice was shaking now, and she was holding on her bedpost for support. How was Troy going to take this?

"Okay… Do you want me to come over?" Troy was uncertain about what Gabriella was going to say, but he was sure it wasn't good.

"No. I just wanted to tell you…" Gabriella took a deep breath in and then released all of her horrible doings on Troy. She told him about the day that Jacob came up to her and asked her to be on the district scholastic decathlon team, to the actual night that she had pizza with him. She told Troy how sorry she was and how nothing happened between them. When all was said, Gabriella let out a long sigh. Her conscious felt better, but she knew what was coming next. She slowly rested her head on the pillow and convinced herself to hang up before she started crying, but to her surprise, the silence after her confession was broken with laughter.

"Troy, why are you laughing?" Gabriella was getting angry now. Did he not care if she had dinner with another guy?

"Gabriella, it is okay to join the district team! I actually think it's great, and I'm not mad at you for having dinner with him, but I am a little hurt that you would accept, even though it wasn't a date, when you haven't even gone out with me yet." Troy hoped they could spend some time alone tomorrow. He had it all planned out, but he wanted Gabriella to understand that he really did care about her and that he wanted her to himself.

"Oh, Troy. I am so sorry. I just really thought that the team would look good on my college application, and I ju…." Gabriella was cut off by Troy's laughter. It was growing louder. "What is wrong with you Troy?"

"Sorry. But I figured it would be because of your college application. But you know I still love you though, right?" Troy laughed.

"Yes, I do. So, I'm telling you this out of my pure love for you. Shut up and get off the phone. I will see you tomorrow." Gabriella joked and hung up the telephone. "That didn't go as badly as I thought it would." She whispered to herself as she turned off her lights and pulled the covers over her head, dreaming of Troy with her in his arms.

Eight-thirty in the morning came so fast that Gabriella decided to stay in bed for twenty minutes after her alarm clock went off. Although, this came back to bite her in the but, seeing as she then only had thirty minutes to take a shower, get dressed, eat breakfast, do her hair and makeup, and pack anything that she had forgotten to pack.

After flying around the house and fixing herself up, Gabriella sat on the couch with one minute to spare. Actually, more like ten minutes, because she knew that Chad and Taylor would be late. They always were. When a horn honked outside, Gabriella grabbed her green and blue beach bag and rushed outside, saying goodbye to her mom as she ran out the door.

"Hey Gabriella! Jump in!" Chad yelled over the revving of his engine. Taylor was sitting next to him in the passenger seat, and Troy was in the back. Gabriella climbed in next to him. As Chad started arguing with Taylor about his science grade, Troy inched closer to Gabriella and put his arm around her. She started to rest her head on his shoulder but he lifted her chin up and kissed her softly on the lips. She felt a warm and fuzzy feeling inside, and deepened the kiss, only to hear Taylor screaming in the front to stop the car. Gabriella immediately opened her eyes to see a tiny duckling walk across the road. Taylor had her hand on her heart and was breathing heavily.

"Oh my god, Chad. You almost hit it!" Taylor was to the point of tears. Chad looked confused, trying to understand why his girlfriend was so panic stricken about hitting a duck. Slowly Chad pulled over the car and turned off the ignition. Troy and Gabriella watched as he wrapped his arms around a crying Taylor, who buried her head inside his shirt.

"What's wrong, Tay? We didn't hit it. I'm sorry for stopping the car so fast, but you yelled so I stopped." Chad looked really sorry for what he did, but Gabriella and Troy had absolutely no idea what Chad did.

"I can't believe I asked you to stop that quickly. I could've killed us all!" Taylor was sobbing and Chad wiped away her tears. He kissed her softly and murmured something out of Troy and Gabriella's hearing range, which perked Taylor right up, and she continued to reprimand Chad about his grades.

When the gang finally reached the lake, everyone was in a better mood. Chad had agreed to study for at least an hour with Taylor every night, which made her happy. Chad pulled Troy away from the girls to help me rent the motorboats, and Taylor immediately launched into a big discussion with Gabriella.

"Gabby, I am so sorry for ever doubting you. Listen to this, because I know you are going to laugh. I made Chad skip out on the last half hour of the movie we went to see in order to get pizza at the place you were "going" to be." Taylor emphasized her words with quotation marks in the air. "I feel so bad that I didn't trust you."

"Oh boy." Gabriella said to herself, and started explaining to Taylor the past night's events. Just as she and Taylor were back on good terms, the boys showed up with the rental keys, and they sped out across the lake on their motorboat.

"Gabriella, come here! I want you to see this really cool fish." Chad called out. The four of them had been talking on the boat for about an hour, and Chad decided that it was time to liven up the mood. Gabriella got up from the small bench seat. Troy, who was looking at the newest basketball shoe catalog, watched Gabriella walk across to Chad. Her yellow and blue polka dot bikini looked great on her, and Troy just couldn't help but stare.

"Troy!" Taylor whispered, signaling for Troy to close his jaw. Taylor swept her gaze over to Chad just in time to see him pushing a screaming Gabriella into the lake water. Troy jumped up from his seat and started yelling at Chad.

"Why the hell did you push her? Mess with your own girlfriend, not mine!" Troy pulled on his hair, looking into the murky water. His heart was beating fast. It had been ten whole seconds, and he had not seen her head break the surface. Just after he pulled his t-shirt off, getting ready to rescue Gabriella, someone jumped on him, sending not only him, but his attacker into the water. When he broke surface, he saw Gabriella smiling at him.

"Got ya!" Troy loved the way she smiled, and he couldn't help but smile too.

When they got back on the boat, Troy watched Taylor and Chad engage in an intense water fight a few yards away. He saw that Gabriella was lying on the floor of the boat, her chest moving furiously up and down with laughter. She was so beautiful, and he just wanted to be near her. Troy smiled, sank down to the floor, and lifted Gabriella into a sitting position. She had a questioning look in her eyes, and Troy put his hands on her waist and pulled her close, connecting their lips. Gabriella wrapped her arms around Troy's neck and kissed him back. He had never kissed her like this before. It was so passionate and she loved every second of it. When they broke apart for air, Gabriella searched Troy's face for some kind of regret, but found none. Troy was a sucker for his girlfriend's big brown eyes, and something took over inside him. He wasn't afraid what she was going to think of him anymore. Troy pulled her back towards him and their lips connected once again. He never wanted to break apart from her, but was forced to when Chad and Taylor started swimming back to the boat.

"Wow." Gabriella blinked. She was out of breath and her heart was beating wildly. She looked at Troy and wanted to kiss him again, but knew she would never do that in front of Taylor and Chad.

"Wow." Troy responded. All he could do was stare at his girlfriend. How could he be so lucky? She was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen, but Troy couldn't help feeling a little disappointed in his best friend's timing to come back to the boat.

"Hey man!" Chad yelled. "I beat her! I totally creamed my girlfriend!" Chad was smiling stupidly.

"Dude, did you just hear what you said?" Troy asked, seeing the look on Taylor's face. Chad's eyes widened in horror and he turned around to Taylor. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to say that, but I do mean to do this." Chad kissed a delighted Taylor while Gabriella and Troy muttered something about getting a room. Why does everyone in the world have bad timing?

The group decided to take a break for lunch. After their motorboat was tied to the dock, Chad and Troy went off to a hot dog stand while Taylor and Gabriella decided to run inside and freshen up.

"Hey Tay, I'll meet you outside when you are done, okay?" Gabriella was dying to get something to eat, and being in a lake house bathroom was making her lose her appetite. Standing outside, Gabriella felt a soft breeze on her face. She loved being in the countryside, it was always so peaceful. Footsteps echoed from behind her and she turned around to see Jacob.

"Wow! Jacob, hi! I didn't expect to see you here!" Gabriella smiled.

"Well, my friends invited me to come down with them today, and I thought it would be fun. Then, as we were walking, I spotted you and thought that I would come over and say hi!" He stared down at her slim bikini. She was so hot, and he just had to have her. "Here, come with me for a minute. Some of my friends are on the district team, and I want you to meet them." Jacob held out his hand.

Gabriella couldn't help but be a little suspicious of Jacob. She couldn't see any of his friends anywhere. "I'm sorry, but I promised Taylor that I would wait for her and…"

Jacob interrupted. "It will only take three minutes tops. They are right over there." Jacob pointed to the wooded area surrounding the lake. Gabriella glanced at the door and then back at Jacob. Against her better judgment, she took his hand. "Okay, but it has to be quick."

Meanwhile, at the hotdog stand, Chad was curious about what happened between his best bud and Gabriella on the boat. After the two sat down at a picnic table near the shore, Chad dived in.

"So dude, what exactly happened between you and Gabriella on the boat? You have this stupid smile on your face that I haven't seen in years."

Troy smiled wider. He couldn't help it. "Oh, nothing really. We just had a moment, that's all." There was no way that Troy was going to tell his friend the details about what happened. It was too sacred, and he liked having something between him and his girlfriend that no one else knew about.

"Whatever dude. If you don't want tell me, than that's your problem, not mine." Chad laughed and stuffed the hotdog in his mouth. Troy just stared at him in awe and splashed some sea water on him, causing the hotdog to go flying out of Chad's mouth and into the drink he had gotten for Taylor. He just stared and shrugged his shoulders. "She can go without."

"You are the worst boyfriend ever, man. But I have to admit, you can be sensitive when you try." Troy smiled.

"That's all that matters, right?" And the boys went back to eating.

Taylor opened the door to the bathroom and looked around. Where the hell was Gabriella? There was no one close to Taylor, so she decided to head back to the hotdog stand where the boys were, figuring Gabriella was probably with them. She ran over and sat down next to Chad, eyeing him suspiciously.

"Have you guys seen Gabriella?" she asked, her heart pounding. Where was her friend? Troy looked at Taylor and immediately felt sick to his stomach.

"Wasn't she with you?" he asked. He was mentally kicking himself. What if Gabriella was hurt and she was calling his name?

"She was, and she that she would wait outside the bathroom for me, because, well, lake bathrooms aren't always the prettiest, and when I came out, she was no where to be seen. I'm really scared because Gabriella never runs off like that." After hearing these words, Troy shot up from his seat, his face white.

"Where did you last see her Taylor?" His voice was shaking. He just wanted Gabriella to be safe in his arms. Chad and Taylor stood up and the three ran across the beach to the last place Gabriella was seen.

"I don't see anyone here." Gabriella's heart was pounding. They had been walking for over five minutes into the woods and she could no longer hear the sounds of the waves or of people. No academic team friends had popped out of the woods and Gabriella was beginning to regret her decision to follow Jacob. He turned to her and grabbed her waist forcefully.

"Gabriella, you know that you are not meant for Troy. You don't have anything in common with him, except for the fact that you can both sing. You need someone who is there for you and appreciates you." Jacob's eyes were now staring intently at Gabriella's body, and he rubbed her waist. Gabriella wanted more than anything to get out of this situation, but Jacob's grip was too forceful. Tears were threatening to fall from her eyes.

"I love you Gabriella, and I want you, now. I know you want me too." Jacob's devilish grin appeared.

"No! I hate you get away from me! Please let me go!" Gabriella whined. She started to scream but his sweaty hand covered her. Tears flowed freely from her eyes.

"Not so…" Jacob began to say, but he stopped when he heard voices coming closer to him. Luckily, Gabriella didn't hear them, so he decided to have a little bit of fun. In one swift move, Jacob lifted Gabriella into his arms and started kissing her. She was pulling away and kicking but she couldn't scream because of his hand. He moved his hands down her back and touched her. All of the sudden a sharp pain caused him to drop Gabriella on the ground. She whined. He had been hit by a rock. A few feet in front of him was Troy Bolton. This guy did not look happy.

"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING WITH MY GIRLFRIEND?" Troy started running towards him and Jacob turned to run the other way only to find that Chad was standing there with his arms crossed. Before Jacob was let go, he had suffered numerous punches and blows to the face, causing his eye to swell shut. Chad and Troy were breathing hard, with anger still flowing in their veins, watching Jacob run. "If that bastard ever comes near Gabriella again, he is as good as dead." Troy turned to Chad. "Thanks man. I couldn't have done it without you." Troy fell to the ground, holding his hand. He was exhausted. Chad did the same.

"No prob, dude. He deserved it, that idiot. God, how could we have trusted him? When you told me about Gabriella going to dinner with him, I thought it was for the scholastic team. I mean, she took a test and everything." Troy sat up, suddenly feeling sick again.

"Where's Gabriella?" Troy stood up and started calling her name, and when she didn't answer, he turned to Chad. "Where is she?" he demanded.

Chad was surprised at his friend's tone of voice. "Don't worry man. Taylor took her back to the table we were sitting at. Come on, it's only about 15 minutes away from here. Geesh, these woods are deep." And the boys started jogging towards the noise of the shore.

After about ten minutes of crying in Taylor's arms, Troy and Chad whipped around the corner of the surf shop. Chad stopped and stared at Gabriella and Taylor. Troy did the same, but called out Gabriella's name and immediately started running for her. She looked up and he lifted her out of Taylor's arms and into his own. He held her so tightly and breathed a sigh of relief. Troy whispered in his girlfriend's ear, "You're safe now. It's okay. You're safe."

Troy sat down on the sand, carefully bringing Gabriella down with him. She continued to cry in his arms and pain kept shooting in his heart. How could he have let that happen? Her big brown eyes looked up at him and he leaned down to kiss her. She wrapped her arms around her neck and pushed him down on the sand. Gabriella didn't have to feel scared anymore. Troy was here to protect her, and that's all that mattered. She pulled away from Troy and softly said, "Thank you, Troy." He wrapped his arms around her and she placed a hand on his chest. They looked up at the clouds for what seemed like forever, just happy to be holding one another.

**_Read and Review Please. I really want to know what you thought of this chapter! _Yes, okay, I know. Major fluff, but I didn't want things to get TOO dramatic. Okay, so the summary that I had put originally on the story is changing. I didn't like it, and if I kept that summary, then this would be the end of the story. Don't worry though, because there is more to come. This time though, I am not promising a date where I can put it out. I have SO much homework, and I get home at like 9:30 at night because I'm on my school's golf team, so I have ZERO time to write during the week. Don't worry though, it'll be out. **_If you guys would like to pitch in ideas, please do! If you don't want them on a review, you can e-mail me at **I love hearing from you guys. Also, there is this rumor going around at my school that Zac Efron is actually gay. Is it true? I have no idea because I just heard it from like 18 people, but if you know, drop me an e-mail and tell me if it's true or not! Thanks! **_


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